Portugal boss Fernando Santos insists Cristiano Ronaldo will remain his side’s penalty taker at Euro 2016 despite his miss against Austria on Saturday.
The Real Madrid ace missed from the spot during the closing stages of the 0-0 draw at the Parc des Princes and he has now failed to score four of his last five penalty attempts for club and country.
Despite his recent struggles, the 31-year-old appears to have the backing of his manager, who insisted that his captain would remain on penalty duties, should the team be awarded one in their final group match against Hungary.
“If there is a penalty in the next game, Cristiano Ronaldo will take it and he will score,” Santos told reporters. “He is used to scoring goals, he is a winner and he also reacts well when he makes a mistake. That is what we expect from him.”
Full-back Raphael Guerreiro had been touted to replace Ronaldo on set-piece duties after he netted from a free-kick during the recent friendly success over Norway, but Santos has dismissed any such suggestions.
He added: “Cristiano always wants to take the free kicks and it has always been him who has taken them. If Raphael had not scored that goal, nobody would be talking about this.” Portugal are currently third in Group F after collecting two points from their opening two matches and they know they will have to beat Hungary on Wednesday to be guaranteed a place in the knockout stages.
Santos’ men are available at 1.40 to claim all three points at Parc Olympique Lyonnais, while the Hungarians are on offer at 9.00 and the draw is priced 4.50.
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